


Facing The Consequences

by Easily_Obsessed



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: AU, Consequences, F/M, Jisbon, Post Red John, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 17:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30025311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Easily_Obsessed/pseuds/Easily_Obsessed
Summary: AU - set after S6E8.Jane comes out of hiding after killing Red John. He returns from the Island on his own accord because he had enough.When he turns up at Lisbon's she is hardly pleased to see him because him returning creates a big dilemma for her. After all the chaos following the serial killer's death she had to work at gaining back the trust of law enforcement and she had finally done that, getting the Director job at the CBI in the process.She cannot be seen harbouring a fugitive.
Relationships: Patrick Jane & Teresa Lisbon, Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	Facing The Consequences

He wasn’t expecting a celebration. Streamers, balloons, drink and party food. He knew the risk of returning… but he wasn’t expecting her response, or the guilt he would feel. “Patrick Jane?”

The mention of his name forces him to look up from the scratched interview table and back towards the doorway of the room, where a smartly dressed woman is stood with long dark hair and a stern expression on her face. “I am FBI Special Agent Kim Fischer, and I am here to transfer you to a detention centre in Austin.”

Jane doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t know what, he has lost and that’s all there is to it. A Sac PD officer steps past the agent and the sound of rattling cuffs follows as the curly-haired man is untethered from the table.

He lets himself be pulled up from a sitting position before his arms get pulled behind his back and he is cuffed in that position. So many times he has watched perps put in this position and he thought nothing of it, they were bad guys, they deserved it, but now it is him in the restraints he has a different outlook.

The blonde knows that he isn’t a terrible person. Yes, he killed Thomas McAllister, but Red John murdered countless people including his wife and child. He doesn’t feel guilty about taking his life away. He believes it was his right. “You’ve caused quite a stir at HQ. Being back.” Fischer tells her prisoner as he is led out of the building and towards the government vehicle.

“I aim to please.” It is the first words he has uttered he thinks all day, and involuntarily his voice cracks showing his clear weakness. A part of him is frightened.

She lets him brood in silence, as they hit the road and his eyes fixate out of the window, trying to distract himself from the situation he has got himself in. He thinks of Lisbon, and her face when she opened her front door. She was surprised but it was definitely more an anguished display rather than a joyous one. It didn’t go how he expected.

_Two Days Earlier_

Nothing could have prepared him for her physical reaction to his sudden arrival. It took him days to sneak back into the US and into Sacramento. Not only was it incredibly time consuming but very risky.

If anyone spotted him in the city, then immediately Sac PD and the FBI would be on his case, chaining him up and chucking him in jail. There were also his methods of getting here, getting onboard with a lot of shady criminals and paying them with money he won in a card game with other shady criminals. There were many moments that could have got him killed but he had enough on the island, away from the people he knows and loves. He is done with running.

When she heard the knock at her front door, Lisbon frowned, she doesn’t really get visitors. Not anymore anyway. If she thought her life was dominated by work before, it is even more so now. It is the only element of her life she has left, and she had to fight so hard for it. She had to rebuild trust with so many important people and almost beg for another chance, whilst making promises she probably can’t keep.

Now, Patrick Jane, has once again thrown a spanner in the works, just by showing up. “I’m so glad you still live here. I don’t know how I would have found you otherwise.” He explains, with a clear look of relief on his face, but his coolness angers her.

Why does he think turning up out of the blue, after almost two years, is okay? The dark-haired woman takes a step to one side and indicates for him to come in, not uttering a syllable because he has stunned her into silence.

He looks remarkably well considering his twenty-four months on the run. Maybe a little scruffy, he could definitely do with a haircut and a shave. The main difference in his appearance though is his apparel, a pair of dishevelled blue jeans and a navy, drawstring hoodie. Of course, he can’t really go galivanting around California in his usual three-piece suit, when he is trying to stay hidden. Assuming, he is still in hiding. His sudden arrival is making her question that.

Jane scans his surroundings whilst she closes the door and he spots the odd CBI case file scattered on her coffee table, he smiles. “You are still working at the CBI then.” He is relieved, he really thought his actions would have screwed everything up for her, he is glad it didn’t.

“I’m the Director.” She murmurs, but with a surprising lack of enthusiasm.

“That’s amazing!” He exclaims and is quick to embrace her, both in a congratulatory manner but also because of how much he has missed her. If her reaction on opening the door was warmer towards him then he would have hugged her straightaway, but he can sense she is exasperated. “You deserve it.” He adds before pulling away and she slowly nods.

He has no idea the lengths she had to go to in getting that job and the impossible position he has now put her in. “Tea?” She offers, and before he can answer she is heading in the direction of her kitchen.

“Yes, please.” He accepts, having felt in need of one for quite a while.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Lisbon isn’t exactly ecstatic about his sudden return, although as to why is more difficult to understand. He follows her into the kitchen and takes a seat at the table, he watches her make their drinks all in an uncomfortable silence whilst he tries his best to comprehend her mood.

Maybe she is upset about the manner he left two years ago, but he would have thought that she would understand. Maybe it was the chaos he caused which irritated her, but it can’t have been too bad if she got the top CBI job.

Patrick is stumped. It is the sound of a mug being put in front of him which brings him back to reality. “Thank you.” He sends her smile which she attempts to return but he can see it is forced. They both take a sip of their hot beverages, a tea for him and a coffee for her, before he casually asks, “So, what have I missed?”

Her patience runs out. His blasé front irritating her to her core, and she blows up. “The audacity you have to just show up here!” She exclaims, bubbling over, making him sit back in his chair to get as far away from her as possible without getting up.

“I thought you’d be at least a bit pleased to see me.”

“I am it’s just…” She shakes her head and slams her fist down onto the table. “I had to work my butt off to the get the Director position. For a time, they wanted to fire me completely, but I managed to gain their trust. It helped that there wasn’t exactly a massive pool of candidates after the _Blake Association_ was disbanded but… it was hard, Jane.”

During her rambling, he suddenly begins to understand. He is a fugitive, and she is the law, not just the law she is the director of the law. She cannot be seen harbouring him. “I’m sorry.”

His apology does very little. “I had to swear that I had no knowledge where you were and promise to hand you in if you surfaced. It is why I asked the Barsocky’s to stop passing on your letters.”

“You didn’t get my letters?”

“Not after the first few, no.” He looks hurt at this revelation and it pains her to see it. Yes, she may be being brutally honest, but she doesn’t want him to be sad. “It was too difficult, I have missed you, but I moved on because I had to.”

After the fateful day of Jane killing Red John, Lisbon begun her own investigation in finding her partner but she – like the FBI – got nowhere. She was pleased that the RJ saga was over and hoped that her friend was now at peace, but she also felt a little put out. Like she had served her use. It took her time to get over that before she could fully focus on her professional life again.

She is certain that if there were more options out there, she wouldn’t have got the job. It staggered her when she did, after breaking trust when she let her consultant go rogue. It is unforgiveable really. “I know I put you in a tight spot and I do feel guilty about that… but I am also not sorry I did it.” His admittance sounds harsh, but she understands. “We got Red John.”

They did, well he did, after years and years of headaches he finally met his end, and she can smile about that. In fact, she does so, and he cannot help but think about how much he has missed that smile. “And how was it?”

“Strange.” He reveals. “He begged me not to take his life but there was no way I was going to let him walk away. After everything he did.” Jane pauses momentarily to take a deep breath to steady himself as he starts to feel his heart palpitate, like it does whenever he recalls the moment that he felt Red John’s life drain away by his hands. “I do not regret it.”

“I’m glad you don’t.”

When she spent days and days on end locked inside her house, just with her own thoughts, she wondered how it all played out. She wondered if the evil serial killer was remorseful and if her friend felt any guilt after taking his life. It started to drive her insane, the theorising.

It is why she had to get back working and it is why she felt little shame in begging for forgiveness from her superiors. “How are the others? Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt…?”

“They are good, I think. Grace has just had a baby, little Maddy. She and Wayne have started a security business.” He finds himself smiling at the mention of an infant, he knows that the pair will be great parents. “And Cho is working for the FBI.”

“Working for the enemy.”

“They aren’t the enemy!” She whisper-shouts, like they are able to hear their conversation.

“Well, they’re currently trying to hunt me down, so I am going to say that they’re the enemy.”

Lisbon glowers at him over the top of her mug as she takes a large gulp of her coffee. It really isn’t wise her ingesting the caffeine at this time, but she needed something to take the edge off and she is no longer drinking. “Teresa Lisbon... director of the CBI. Do you understand how much of a big deal that is?”

It may not be as exhilarating as field work but at least she feels like she is making a difference. “A massive deal. I’m sure your brothers are very proud.” He comments, whilst experiencing an uneasy sensation as he doesn’t where she is going with this.

“It is the dream job but now you’re back I can’t have it because I can’t hand you in.” She reveals and he feels remorseful once more. “You’re too important to me.”

He has lost count the number of times she has stuck her neck out for him, put her job, her life on the line because she doesn’t only care but has always been incredibly loyal to him. This loyalty almost made her lose everything and made rebuilding her life so difficult, yet here she is again willing to drop her whole life for him; but he isn’t going to let her.

It wasn’t just her, the entire unit risked everything whilst he got to run away. “If I knew the moral difficulty of me returning, I wouldn’t have come back.” He tells her, but it doesn’t make things any easier. A stress headache has come on which he can see by the little crease on her forehead. “You have to give me up, I know that and so do you.”

“You make it all sound so easy.” She sighs and grips her coffee cup tighter, trying to expel some of the pent-up energy she is feeling.

“Just give me twenty-four hours.” He pleads, “And I will come back here for you to call the cops.”

“Twenty-four hours? To do what?”

It is fair enough that she is sceptical, he is hardly the most honest of men and he could write a book on deception. For all she knows he could be planning to run off again. “To eat some eggs, drink tea and to visit my family. Could be the last time I’m able to.”

He notices the unshed tears pooling in her eyes and makes himself look away, focussing on his teacup. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, she doesn’t deserve to be in pain after everything she did for him. He knew it was likely that when he returned to the US that he would have turn himself in or be turned in, but he had to come back.

There was nothing for him on the island but growing despair, he wasn’t going to survive it… it wasn’t living. Lisbon was what he missed the most and he had to see her again, maybe that was selfish.

Jane knocks back the rest of his tea before he starts to get up to leave. The sight makes her nauseous. “I am going to go before I find it too difficult to.” Perhaps, that is an inconsiderate thing to do but after spending so much time by himself he has lost some of his social skills.

“But you will be back tomorrow? Right?” She eagerly asks. Her reaction to him being back may not have been the friendliest but she doesn’t want this reunion to be over.

The blonde wanders round to her side of table and plants a kiss on the top of her head, she closes her eyes at the contact. The simple but loving action calms her instantly. He feels her relax under his touch. “Sleep well.” He tells her, before he begins to walk away.

“See you tomorrow?” It is a question more than a statement and he pauses to turn back to her with a reassuring smile.

“See you.”

\--------------------

Neither of them sleeps well. Too many thoughts clouded her mind as she played out an internal battle of what she will do the following day. Her head is telling her to do the right thing and hand him in, make him face the consequences of his actions. However, her heart is making her refrain. He means so much to her after all.

To be fair to Jane, he doesn’t try to sleep. If these next twenty-four hours are to be his last with freedom, then he isn’t going to waste them sleeping. He has the rest of his life to snooze away.

He spends most of his remaining hours of independence walking. Walking around the city he knows far too well. Different streets carry different memories, usually relating to cases he worked on, but even when solving grisly murders some great memories were created. With the team. He misses those days.

Everything he said he was going to do he does so. Gets some eggs and tea from his favourite diner in Sacramento and visits the cemetery where his wife and child are buried. Last time he was here, things went a bit crazy, the reflection gives him goosebumps. Makes him feel alive.

That’s all before he continues waltzing through the streets, with his hood up, whilst he tries not to draw any attention to himself. The solitude gives him chance to think, which perhaps is a curse.

The truth is he knows that Lisbon won’t be able to turn him in. The history they share and the loyalty that binds them is too strong, but this time that will cause her to crash and burn. He knows that. He knows how low she will become if she completely loses her work and harbouring a known fugitive is without a doubt a sackable offence. She wouldn’t be able to work in law enforcement again.

Jane cares about her too much to let that happen to her. He did what he set out to do, ending the reign of a monster, it is time he faces the consequences of that. So, when he finds himself stood outside the main entrance of the CBI, he understands what he has to do.

The door squeaks when he pushes it open, his first thought is to check if anything has changed in two years – nothing. A system stuck in its way, but he is sure their new director will make alterations. She knows more than anyone what needs to be reformed.

He pulls down his hood as he approaches the front desk and before the attendee can register who the civilian is, he says clearly, “Hello, my name is Patrick Jane and I’m wanted for murder.” That’s that. What’s done is done.

No going back now.

\--------------------

When her curly-haired friend doesn’t turn up to her place like he said he would, twenty-four hours on from when he left, she shakes her head. Of course, he lied. He is probably heading back to paradise as she sits waiting. Lisbon stares at her phone, hoping that it starts to ring from the coffee table, but why would it? She isn’t sure if he has a phone or if he remembers her number… he’s Patrick Jane, of course he remembers.

The device does in fact start to buzz on the countertop, it skids slightly on the wooden surface as the vibrations carry it away. She picks it up and “PRIVATE NUMBER” lights up on the screen. That could be him, maybe. “Hello?” She questions the unknown caller, her stomach in knots as she hopes to hear the familiar drone of the mentalist on the other end.

“Agent Lisbon.” Not Jane. “This is Supervisory Special Agent Abbott. I hear congratulations are in order.”

Abbott? What does he want? She definitely doesn’t carry any warm feelings towards the FBI agent who made her unit’s final days together a misery. Although she does understand that he was just doing his job. “What?” She replies, worry in her tone.

“The CBI job. First female director.” She breathes a sigh of relief but thinks she manages to make it as inaudible as possible.

“Oh, thank you Sir.”

She wonders how much the FBI have actually been keeping tabs on her. She hasn’t been keeping anything hidden but they don’t know that, and it is no secret that she has one of the best relationships with Jane. “I’m just calling as a courtesy to say that Patrick Jane has handed himself in.”

He has what? Lisbon feels her mouth go dry and her heartrate falter momentarily. Her palms become clammy, her breathing shakes and the hairs on her arms stand on end. “Thank you for letting me know Agent Abbott.” She then hangs up, and it feels like her heart is falling.

Before, when he was in hiding, she didn’t have the attitude of her relationship with Jane having come to an end, because there was still always a chance. A chance that one day they would see each other again. Last night when he turned up unannounced it threw her. Her brain struggled to comprehend that he was here in California and her reaction to it was frantic.

She cannot help but feel like she wasted the time they had, especially now he will be locked up for many years to come. That’s the brutal honesty of it, and there is nothing she can do about it. He took the decision out of her hands, and although she knows that he will have done so out of the goodness of his heart, she wishes he hadn’t. The guilt will eat away at her for the rest of her life.

Once she manages to steady her emotions, she is straight out the front door and heading towards CBI Headquarters. Abbott didn’t say where her friend is being held but she assumes that is where he handed himself in. It suddenly hits her that no-one from the Californian bureau phoned to alert her about the situation, and as the director that’s a worry. Like there was concern surrounding her potential reaction.

The atmosphere changes in the building on her arrival, but not in the same ways as usual. People aren’t altering their behaviours because of the director being present but instead it is because of the offender they have in holding. Everyone knows about their history; it has been gossiped about for years.

On spotting the superior, an agent approaches the brunette with an apprehensive look on his face. “Director Lisbon, how can we help you?” He asks, although it wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out why the sudden, unannounced arrival.

“I hear that you’ve got Patrick Jane in custody.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Why wasn’t I notified?”

The man looks shifty at her question. Although she may be in charge of this organisation, she doesn’t feel like she has the control that Bertram did. “I wouldn’t know that Director, but Mr Jane said if you tried to visit then to tell you that it’s okay.”

“What’s okay?” Nothing about this situation seems _okay_ to her.

“That’s all he said.” She has stood within these four walls countless times before, but now it all feels alien to her. If she was honest with herself, she would realise that things haven’t felt the same since Red John’s death which also saw the end of her unit. “Mr Jane isn’t allowed any visitors because of him being a flight risk. He also requested that he doesn’t get any.”

Now she truly is stuck. That’s it. There is nothing else she can do. “Thank you, agent… I guess I will go home then.”

The agent flashes her a sympathetic smile before she turns away and returns in the direction she came in.

What she doesn’t know in this moment is that when she returns home, she will call Grace Van Pelt and cry down the phone to her, as the realisation of what she has lost hits her like a boxer in the ring.

\--------------------

“Why did you hand yourself in?” Fischer’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts as they soar seven miles up in the sky. He’s barely said a word since the FBI collected him, but they haven’t really tried to make conversation either, realising that he is hardly in a chatty mood.

They drove to an airfield before boarding a private flight to Austin, Jane remains cuffed despite having no-where to go and he is not a danger per se. They just don’t want to lose him again; a lot of money and time has been spent trying to track him down… and then he hands himself in! “I’m sorry, did you say something?” He mumbles and turns to look at the dark-haired woman sat next to him.

“Yes, why did you hand yourself in?” That is the million-dollar question.

Because of Lisbon. He couldn’t hurt her again; he has caused her too much trouble already. “I was bored of running.” He lies and turns away again, to look out of the tiny window.

The agent doesn’t buy his explanation, but she lets it slide. “Agent Abbott is very pleased.”

He remembers clearly the man who almost stopped him in his pursuit for vengeance. If it weren’t for Lisbon and the rest of the unit, he wouldn’t have got the revenge he craved, and that’s why he had to hand himself in. There was no way he was going to intentionally ruin any of their lives and careers. “Ah, how is Dennis?”

“He’s very good. I will be sure to pass on your regards.”

Jane frowns at this comment. “Do I not get to see him?”

“No, the boss has bigger fish to fry.” This disappoints him a little, he was interested to know the man’s thoughts on the whole situation. Maybe, even hoped for some compassion. “You are going straight to a detention suite before your trial. It is going to be quite some case, Homicide, aggravated assault, grand theft auto, obstruction of justice...”

“Sounds like I will be going away for a while then.”

Fischer almost feels sorry for him. He may have broken the law, but she can understand why he would do so, but that doesn’t mean it was okay. The mentalist turns his head to look at the agent, it is evident from his uneasy expression that he is internally psyching himself up to say something. “Can I ask you a favour?”

“You can ask…” Is her response, as she cocks her head to one side in curiosity.

“Teresa Lisbon.” Even just uttering her name makes his heart swell. “She did a lot for me and I think I owe her an explanation.” She was his rock, his good influence, his closest friend. “I was wondering if you would allow me to write a letter for her, for you to pass on.”

“A letter?” She questions and he hums, whilst staring at her expectantly. “Wait, right now?”

“Yes. If you have a pen and some paper?” She really shouldn’t enable him, he is her prisoner, a clever man having committed numerous felonies. Everybody knows the mind games he plays. However, she finds herself nodding before she leans down to retrieve some stationary from her bag. “I will need to be uncuffed too.”

She rolls her eyes. He probably doesn’t think he is asking for much and maybe that’s the problem. The man who thought he was above the law by taking matters into his own hands.

However, she cannot see what harm he can do when they’re in the air whilst he is surrounded by FBI agents with guns. He can’t exactly escape. So, after placing a notepad and pen on the tray table in front of him, she uncuffs the prisoner earning a few raised eyebrows from her colleagues, but none of them say anything, which Jane finds interesting.

Agent Fischer is obviously someone not to mess with. “Thank you.” He says to her before immediately uncapping the pen and searching his mind for the words he seeks.

Jane knows that he will likely see Lisbon again. Once his trial his done and he is sent to jail, she can visit him if she wants to, and he has a feeling she will. Right now though he can only try to imagine what she is feeling, and her reaction to him making her decision for her. He is guessing that she feels a mixture of sadness and annoyance, but he hopes that she is also somewhat relieved. Otherwise, there was no point.

He feels a little relieved. Probably because he no longer has to live his life looking over his shoulder. He also understands that this is all his own doing, he decided this future for himself the moment his wrapped his hands around Red John’s neck. It is something he had to do, for himself and his family, and if that means spending the rest of his days in prison then so be it.

He no longer cares.

_Dear Lisbon,_

_I know you probably have questions. About why I did what I did. There are no easy answers._

_Handing myself in was the right thing to do and I know it is quite early to say that I don’t regret it, but I really think I won’t. The law is the law, and I broke it, a few times, and I put the unit on the line in the process. The mess that you all had to clean up because I needed to seek vengeance was massive and I wasn’t going to put any of you through that again. It would have been selfish._

_All the thanks in the world wouldn’t be enough but I hope you pass on my love and gratitude to Grace, Rigsby and Cho, but also my apologies for causing them to uproot their lives._

_Sam Bosco expressed his distaste of me on numerous occasions before his passing, but mainly because he was worried about me turning you into a worse cop. I cannot say whether I did that or not, all I can say is we definitely changed each other._

_You made me a better person, and I understand the irony of writing that whilst I am being transported to a detention suite, but it is the truth._

_I am sincerer, stronger and braver because of you, which is helping me as I move into a new stage of my life. I have accepted what is to come, so I hope you can too._

_Being Director of the CBI is a big deal and I honestly believe they have the right person for the job. You know the organisation inside out and will make the changes needed to take it forward, to improve it. A word of advice though… I would stay clear of consultants! I hear they can be a bit of nightmare._

_Anyway, I wish you all the best for the future. I have just realised how final that sounds, but I do hope that you come and visit me if you’re ever not busy. I will write, nevertheless._

_Continue to be a force of nature. I will miss you, partner._

_U No Hoo_


End file.
